


Nightmares

by Anichibi



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: M/M, Nightmares, Please just take this gay garbage, Tharja - Freeform, This took longer to finish than it really should have
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 12:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16555361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anichibi/pseuds/Anichibi





	Nightmares

Robin yawned as he looked over his various notes and strategies for battle. His eyelids felt like lead weights, and the temptation to just close his eyes for even a few seconds was strong. Slowly, the tactician began to sleep, his eyes fluttering closed and the arm proping his head up slowly sliding to let his head rest against the table. The moment his chin touched wood, he jolted awake, looking around in a daze before returning to his notes. He yawned again, his eyes watering from the action. "Fourty." He jolted up out of his chair, spining around and balancing himself out on the table from the action before spotting Tharja and letting himself relax. "Oh. It's just you."

"You've yawned fourty times in the past half hour." Tharja clarified before Robin even had to ask. "And you've almost fell asleep twenty times in that same amount of time." She continued. "You should rest. It would be bad if you accidentally sent us all to our deaths just because you were tired."

"I'm not entirely sure I should be pleased my stalker is telling me to take care of myself, but at this point I'm honestly too tired to even act surprised you're here." Robin replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "If you don't sleep, I'll get Chrom."

"Chrom has more important things to worry about than if I'm getting the proper amount of sleep." Robin grumbled, sitting back down in the chair and continuing to look over his notes. "I'm pretty sure he'd drop everything for you, Robin. I'm going to get him right now." She left the room just as Robin stood up to stop her. Stepping out the door, he turned to Tharja's retreating back. "You can't just cast a hex on me to make me sleep? You have to drag Chrom into this?" He yelled, his questions falling on deaf ears as the woman turned the corner, disappering from his sight. He groaned, returning back into his room and dropping himself into the chair. Chrom was a _prince_ , for gods sake. Why should he care if his tactician is missing a few hours of sleep?

Actually, thinking about it, he really should care, considering the multiple circumstances around them. Well, why should Chrom care? _"Well, first and most obvious being I'm his husband. Second, I'm the one that's supposed to make sure no one ends up skewered on the business end of a lance or something. Can't really do that when I'm tired."_ Robin thought as he counted off each reason with his fingers. _"And third, the guy cares too much about the well being of other people. Which I do love about him, but that doesn't mean I can't wish he wasn't so caring from time to time. Especially in situations like this."_ Robin jumped as the door opened. He hadn't been expecting Tharja to find the prince so quickly. Robin nervously looked over to Chrom, hints of anger in the man's concerned expression. "Hey, Chrom." The tactician tried his best to greet the prince casually, hoping to distract him from the matter at hand. "Robin, Tharja very recently informed me you haven't been sleeping that well lately. Or at all, it seems." Chrom cut right to the point, closing the door as he stepped in. "Chrom, don't worry about it. It's nothing major."

"She said you woke up at one in the morning in a cold sweat and didn't even bother trying to go back to sleep. You just laid in bed for six hours." Robin visibly grimaced. "Had I been privy she had _that_ little piece of information, I would've stopped her from leaving a lot sooner." He stated. "Robin, you need to rest. As our friend first and foremost, and as are tactician second, we care about you and want to make sure you're taking proper care of yourself. Neglecting sleep isn't something anyone should be doing. You know as well as I do that a battle could break out at any time. I don't want you're lack of sleep affecting your decision making skills or your ability to fight, lest it lead to someone's death, including your own." Chrom let his hands slowly find Robin's, his fingers intertwining with the other's. "Even if we weren't in the middle of a war, I would still urge you to get some rest. You're important to me and I want to make sure you're taking care of yourself." Robin looked everywhere but Chrom's face. He didn't want to admit he was right, but...

"Chrom, you speak like I'm actively avoiding sleep." Robin stated. "People don't jolt awake in the middle of the night unless there's something bothering them. If it's a nightmare that's keeping you from sleeping, I'll stay here while you rest. Alright?" Chrom's hand made its way to Robin's shoulder, his thumb rubbing in a slow back and forth motion. Robin seemed to contemplate the offer, but it seemed Chrom's mere presence was making him relax enough to sleep right then and there, as his eyelids were beginning to droop. "I suppose. But, if I have a nightmare, promise me you'll wake me up."

"I would do it even if you didn't ask."

————————————————

Robin had managed to fall asleep rather quickly, much to Chrom's pleasure. The lack of sleep seemed to have caught up to the tactician. He slept on his side, facing Chrom, who was sitting in the chair he had moved next to the bed. Chrom slipped his hand into one of Robin's, seeing a soft smile form on the man's face.

After a few minutes, Robin's face began to slowly contort as if he was in pain. Chrom got on his knees next to the bed to get a better look at his face, still holding his hand. Tears were starting to form at the corners of his eyes. Chrom released Robin's hand, putting both hands on his shoulder and shaking him roughly. "Robin! Wake up, Robin! Wake up! Come on!" Chrom yelled. Robin didn't stir even a little bit. It was like he was under some sort of spell. Chrom tried making every loud noise he could manage, but the tactician didn't even flinch.

Chrom bit his lip. He didn't think it would be this hard to wake him up. He suspected the power of a curse, since Robin wasn't _this_ heavy of a sleeper. Suddenly, Robin sat up, eyes wide and hands shaking as they gripped onto the blanket. His breaths were shaky and something more akin to gasps. Slowly, tears ran down his cheeks, a sob shaking his body. Chrom quickly sat on the bed behind Robin, pressing his chest against his back, arms holding him securely. Chrom rested his head on Robin's shoulder, giving Robin a loving smile when he looked back at him.

"It's okay, Robin. It was just a dream. You don't have to be afraid anymore." Chrom spoke in a kind, reassuring tone before he began humming a calming tune, rocking back and forth and moving Robin along with the repetitive motion. Robin slowly felt the remaining pain and fear the dream caused fade away into a distant memory, his body relaxing in Chrom's hold. The warmth the prince radiated was a calming thing for Robin, something he'd never want to leave. The last few tears he had shed had already dripped off his chin. He hummed along, having identified the song as one that was played at their wedding. Chrom reached the end of the song and slowed his movements to a halt. "Are you feeling better now, Robin?" Chrom asked in the same kind tone as before. "Thank you, Chrom. Having you here really helped." Robin replied, sinking into Chrom's warmth. "I can't imagine what would've happened had you not been here."

"Um, Robin, if you don't mind me asking, exactly what were you dreaming about?" Chrom asked, moving ever so slightly closer. "It was... um... we... we were fighting Validar, and, um..." Robin seemed hesitant, like the words just kept getting caught in his throat. "Robin, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Chrom reassured, turning the tactician's head to face him. "I know, and I _do_ want to tell you. It's just... not as easy as I would hope."

"I see. Well, take your time."

Robin swallowed thickly as he pieced the words together in his mind, Chrom resting his head on the tactician's shoulder. Finally, Robin spoke again. "Okay, so, we were fighting Validar, and, um... we won, but he tried to, um... he tried to kill you. I pushed you away and took the hit..." He let his head fall back onto Chrom's shoulder, his hands fidgeting for a moment until they separated and patted his lap. "You helped me up and suddenly I felt this... sort of pain in my head, like something was trying to control me, and... I stabbed you. I was scared and horrified and just... I hated myself." Robin's voice was breaking, and Chrom was quick to pick up on the shakiness of it. "Robin..." Chrom's eyes were solemn, but he let Robin continue. "You told me to run before you just... collapsed. I felt like I couldn't breathe. and I could hear that _dastard_ laughing in my head and-"

"Robin." The tactician turned to Chrom upon hearing his name. "It was just a dream, Robin. It won't happen." Chrom stated firmly, lightly peaking Robin's cheek. "Yes, I know that, but it _could_ happen, and-"

"There's always a chance it _won't_ happen, too." Robin seemingly ignored Chrom as he continued to speak. "Every time I have that dream, it just feels so _real_ and I'm always scared and shaking, trying to figure out if it was really a dream. I could never get myself to calm down enough to go see you in the middle of the night just to know if you were alive."

"Robin, you speak as if this wasn't the first time you've had this dream." Robin simply looked at him with a look one could only describe as pained. It didn't take long for Chrom to figure out why. "Oh, Robin... I... gods, how did I not realize it sooner? I'm so sorry..." Chrom let go of Robin, falling back against the bed. "I'm a horrible husband, aren't I? I didn't even notice you were suffering like this."

"Chrom, it's fine, really. Besides, it's understandable. These dreams started not too long ago, and we haven't been spending as much time with each other as we normally do. It makes sense you wouldn't notice sooner. So don't beat yourself up over this." Robin consoled, turning around to look Chrom in the eye. "No, it's not fine. I'm supposed to make sure things like this don't happen, right? Yet, I failed to even check in on you every day. I'm sorry." Chrom looked off to the side, eyes downcast.

"Chrom, it's okay." Robin turned the prince's head to face him, a smile similar in nature to the one Chrom had given him when he comforted him earlier. "You're a prince and the leader of an army, it's only natural you wouldn't have a lot of time for me. I understand." Robin tenderly rubbed Chrom's cheek with his thumb. Chrom didn't move away from the touch. "I know that, but-"Robin shushed him before laying down next to him. "That's enough, Chrom. Now, we should sleep." Chrom looked at the other quizzically. "We?"

"Yes, we. Don't think I haven't noticed those bags forming under your eyes in the short time you've been here." As if to support the statement, Chrom yawned and rubbed his bleary eyes. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" Chrom joked. "Nope. Now, let's get some sleep." Robin pulled the blanket over them both before laying down, using Chrom's chest as a pillow, an arm around his waist. He was out rather quickly, his eyes closed and showing no signs of opening again. Chrom sighed with a soft smile as he wrapped his arm around Robin, his other arm pulling the blanket up a bit more before resting on his chest. His eyes closed before he even realized it, letting his mind and body drift off to sleep for as long as he would be allowed to.


End file.
